Some Advice to My Charismatic/Pentecostal Siblings...

So far on the Rhett's Rants blog, we haven't touched on anything to do with Spiritual Gifts and the controversy surrounding them. Today I will probably open the proverbial "can of worms" and make a few folks mad at me, but before I do, I want to clear the air and tell exactly where I stand on the issues.

Though I have left the Pentecostal denomination I was a part of, it does not mean that I have stopped believing in the present day operation of Spiritual Gifts. So far I have not read, or heard, one Cessationist argument that convinces me that God ceased the gifts of tongues, prophecy, healing, etc, at the close of the Cannon of Scripture or with the death of the Apostles. I believe most Cessationist views are built upon tradition and mere opinion, not a careful study of the Bible. Ironically, I recently listened to a sermon - against the Charismatic movement- by a Cessationist preacher and he even admitted that "...Cessationism is not based on any exegetical argument from scripture..."! I was shocked and strangely elated he would actually admit this! What he ought to have said was "I can't prove my position from scripture alone, it's just my biased opinion"!

Having said that, I do not base my belief in Spiritual Gifts solely from experience. While experiences are fine and dandy, they actually prove nothing! Let me say that again: experience proves nothing! Mormons can claim to feel a "burning in the bosom" when they first read the Book of Mormon, but that does not prove the Book of Mormon is true! The bottom line is that we too should examine our experiences and formulate our practice from the Scriptures. If all we have is our personal experiences to try and prove our position, then we will rightly lose the entire debate. Sola Scriptura should be our battle cry!

Here's what really bothers me: I have reason to believe there are some people in the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement who are so caught up in emotionalism and the "if it's in the spirit, it's okay" mentality, that they will actually fake manifestations to stir up a shout or get attention! That's right. I said it! There are those within the movement who are faking manifestations! What is worse is that there are ministers who are either too blind to see it, or worse, maybe even guilty of encouraging such nonsense!

You may think I am crazy for making this claim, but how else can we explain someone giving an incorrect "interpretation of tongues" to a skeptical preacher's recitation of Psalm 23 in Greek during a Pentecostal meeting? The "interpretation" was not "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want....". No, it was something like, "Thus sayeth the Lord! Thou shalt......". Let me ask you this: Does not the Holy Spirit know Greek? How can we possibly conclude that was an actual manifestation of the gift of interpretation? Whether or not that skeptical preacher should have done what he did is not an issue to me, the issue is that some blabber-mouth couldn't resist an opportunity to draw attention to herself! Obviously, the skeptic left that service justified in his skepticism.

Here's the bottom line: The false manifestations that go on within the movement will never convince the nay-sayers. In fact, it only does harm and adds fuel to the Cessationists fire! How much better would it have been for that skeptical brother to have heard someone interpret Psalm 23 correctly - with the interpreter having not had any prior knowledge of the Greek language? If that had happened, he might even be a convinced Charismatic brother this very day! Instead, because of someone who lacked integrity, he is now more skeptical than ever! What a sad testimony! What a shame! May God have mercy on us!

Let us resolve this very day to go back to the Scripture. Let us examine even our most sacred traditions against the Holy Texts. Whatsoever is found to be in keeping with Scripture, let us cling to and defend it with vigor! That which is not correct, let us put far from us! I pray we all seek only to manifest that which is birthed by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Let it never be that we use a gift -or fake a gift- simply to draw attention to ourselves or to manipulate people or church services. May God also grant us the discernment to know the false from the genuine and give us the courage to rebuke and correct those within the Charismatic movement who are doing more harm than good!

And finally, let us love our Cessationist siblings. I think this is the most important point I can make... Though we may disagree on these points of doctrine and practice, may God help us to open dialog with one another so we can find common ground and perhaps even help some see our perspective. I will leave you with a quote by theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem:

"Finally it can be argued that those in the Charismatic and Pentecostal camps, and those in the Cessationists camps (primarily Reformed and Dispensational Christians) really need each other, and they would do well to appreciate each other more. The former tend to have more practical experience in the use of spiritual gifts and in vitality of worship that Cessationists could benefit from, if they were willing to learn. On the other hand, Reformed and Dispensational groups have traditionally been very strong in understanding of Christian doctrine and in deep and accurate understanding of the teachings of Scripture. Charismatics and Pentecostal groups could learn much from them if they would be willing to do so. But it certainly is not helpful to the church as a whole for both sides to think they can learn nothing from the other, or that they can gain no benefit from fellowship with each other."
(Systematic Theology: page 1046)

Shalom!

Rhett